This is the first year ANY novel written in English is eligible for the Man Booker Prize, the highly coveted annual literary award that used to be open only to the British commonwealth. Four Americans made the long list: Joshua Ferris, Karen Joy Fowler, Richard Powers and Siri Hustvedt.
…

As a child growing up in Dallas, Chris Tomlinson was proud to be a fifth-generation Texan. He also was proud of his Southern heritage, having learned in elementary school that the South’s cause was “lawful and noble.” But he also learned that his ancestors had been slave owners and that after emancipation his family’s former slaves had taken the Tomlinson name as their own. …

We won’t call them one-hit wonders, because for most that is technically untrue. But the writers in this slideshow have just one novel — one memorable, remarkable book — that has cemented itself in the literary canon, the public consciousness, or both. …